Not much knitting but a whole lot of spinning....

So what does a cow in a field have to do with anything related to knitting or crafts....not a whole lot. I just took this picture when I was in Virginia last year during a difficult time and that day the cow was one of the few things that made me smile.

So its been a long while since I've blogged and a lot has been happening. I would love to say that I finished this, but I'm still on the second clue. I have made some progress learning how to use this and I have created some beautiful yarn so far. Its no prairie dream yet but I'm getting there. I at least know where my inspiration lies. So far I enjoy using loud colors and adding random bits of other items like other cut up pieces of yarn, some beads (which aren't as cooperative as I could like), some funky tinsel stuff, and a few random paper flowers. Any progress I have made on the embellishment front tends to fall apart during the plying process but I'm learning and so far some of the yarn I have made is a lot better than any of the yarn my mom has ever spun. As a side note I am not being rude while stating this fact since my mom the OG spinner who's been spinning since I was a baby has stated (rather begrudgingly I might add) that my yarn is better. Needless to say I am enjoying that fact almost as much as I am enjoying the spinning. Lest I get too cocky I am sure the spinning gods will take their revenge, and I'm pretty sure my two cats are in cahoots with the spinning gods since roving tends to get a little mangled when I get ahead of myself.

So not a whole lot of knitting has been going on, a fair amount of spinning progress has been made but as of late I have been more under the weather than actually accomplishing anything all that craft-tastic. For the past few years I've been struggling with dealing with what I thought was fibromyalgia which clearly has not been a fun endeavor. However if it wasn't for my illness I would probably not taken up knitting, reading about knitting, obsessing about fibers, obsessing about bloggers, yarns, needles, gadgets, llamas (ok well maybe I would have obsessed about llamas but that is just because of this and honestly can you blame me?). Anyway over the past few years I have gained countless comfort from engaging in knitting and other crafts. Even when I have not felt well enough to engage in them I have been able to read a book about them, or surf the Internet reading other peoples blogs and being inspired.

Well the past few weeks it has been rather hot in my neck of the woods and it became clear to myself that my bodies reaction to the heat was not very consistent with fibromyalgia at all. Many doctors visits later, tests, MRI, etc...I found out that I have multiple sclerosis.

I'm still new to figuring out what this all means, how I'll cope with it, who I'll turn to for support etc....but I'm keenly aware of the importance of knowing what gives me comfort and what will get me through this next challenge. If anything I know that I will continue to obsess about crafts and learn new things during the good days and the bad days because crafting through a crisis is a great source of comfort. So today as I was sorting through stuff on my computer I came across the above picture of the happy cow from Virginia and I was reminded that even in the midst of something terrible you can find something to make you smile. Happy cows make me smile.